Three-Dimensional Monte Carlo Simulation of the Electrical Conductivity of Carbon Nanotube/Polymer Composites

Monte Carlo simulations are performed to investigate the effects of the attractive intermolecular interaction, flexibility and size dispersity of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) on the electrical conductivity of CNT/polymer composites. We show that a flexibility plays an important role in the CNT agglomeration; rigid CNTs agglomerate readily for sufficiently strong attractive intermolecular interaction, while flexible CNTs do not. This is because more flexible CNTs are less likely to connect to neighbor CNTs. For weak attractive intermolecular interactions, however, the electrical percolation threshold concentration increases with increases in the flexibility and size dispersity, thus decreasing the electrical conductivity. (C) 2012 The Japan Society of Applied Physics